76ers’ struggles continue as Knicks win 111-99 despite Embiid’s season debut

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — OG Anunoby scored 24 points and the New York Knicks spoiled 76ers star Joel Embiid’s season debut, beating Philadelphia 111-99 on Tuesday night in the opener of NBA Cup group play for both teams.

Embiid finished with 13 points and 26 minutes and was unable to lift the struggling Sixers, who fell to 2-8. He shot 2 of 11 and had only three rebounds. Paul George led the Sixers with 29 points and 10 rebounds.

Josh Hart added 14 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for the Knicks. Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Jalen Brunson scored 18 points.

HAWKS 117, CELTICS 116

BOSTON (AP) — Onyeka Okongwu tipped in a missed shot with 6.1 seconds left, and Jaylen Brown missed a jumper at the buzzer on Tuesday night as Atlanta overcame a 15-point, second-half deficit to beat Boston in their NBA Cup opener.

Dyson Daniels scored a career-high 28 points, and Jalen Johnson had 18 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists. Atlanta snapped a two-game losing streak despite playing without star Trae Young.

Brown scored a season-high 37 points and Derrick White added 31 for Boston as it opened the in-season tournament on a green floor with a special parquet design. The defending NBA champions had a two-game winning streak snapped and lost for just the third time this season.

MAGIC 114, HORNETS 89

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Franz Wagner scored 32 points and Jalen Suggs hit his first seven shots, including three 3-pointers, to lead Orlando to a win over Charlotte.

LaMelo Ball scored 16 of his 35 points in the first quarter for the Hornets in the opening round of Group A play in the NBA Cup. Coming off a career-high 38 points in Sunday’s overtime loss at Philadelphia, Ball added six rebounds and seven assists.

Suggs had 13 points in the first quarter and finished with 17 points and two steals.

Greg Williams scored 15 points and Moussa Diabate had 12 points and 15 rebounds for Charlotte.

PISTONS 123, HEAT 121, OT

DETROIT (AP) — Malik Beasley made a tiebreaking free throw with 1.1 seconds left in overtime after Miami was given a technical foul for calling a timeout when it had none left, and Detroit won in an NBA Cup game.

Tyler Herro’s jumper put Miami up 121-119 with 1.8 seconds left, but after a timeout, Cade Cunningham hit Jalen Duren with an alley-oop on the inbounds pass.

The Heat then called the illegal timeout. Beasley hit the foul shot to put Detroit up 122-121, then added another free throw with 0.1 seconds left.

Beasley and Cunningham each scored 21 for the Pistons, who went 0-4 in last year’s NBA Cup. Herro had 40, including 20 in the fourth quarter and overtime.

BUCKS 99, RAPTORS 85

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 23 points to lead Milwaukee past Toronto in an NBA Cup game between teams that entered with the two worst records in the league.

Bobby Portis added 17 points off the bench for Milwaukee. Brook Lopez scored 13 points while AJ Green and Ryan Rollins had 12 apiece.

Gradey Dick paced the Raptors with 32 points, a career high for the second-year player. Jakob Poeltl scored 13 points and Chris Boucher had 12.

The Bucks began to pull away midway through the third quarter and pushed their lead to 21 points early in the fourth. Toronto got within 10 points with less than five minutes remaining but did not get closer.

The Bucks were without star guard Damian Lillard, who is in the concussion protocol, while the Raptors’ Immanuel Quickley sat out with an elbow injury.

SUNS 120, JAZZ 112

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Devin Booker scored 31 points and Bradley Beal added 24 to help Phoenix open NBA Cup pool play with a victory over Utah.

Grayson Allen chipped in 15 points for the Suns. Booker, Beal and Allen combined to make 13 3-pointers. Mason Plumlee finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds while starting in place of injured center Jusuf Nurkic.

John Collins led the Jazz with 29 points and 10 rebounds. Kyle Filipowski added 18 points off the bench and Lauri Markkanen chipped in 17. Jordan Clarkson finished with 16 points and a team-high eight assists.

Utah trailed by double digits much of the game but cut the deficit to 89-83 on Filipowski’s dunk with 10:18 left. Beal countered with consecutive baskets to keep the Jazz from drawing closer. Royce O’Neale and Booker followed with back-to-back 3-pointers to extend Phoenix’s lead to 110-98 with 3:58 remaining.

TRAIL BLAZERS 122, TIMBERWOLVES 108

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Robert Williams and Jerami Grant each scored 19 points to lead Portland to a win over Minnesota.

Williams, who recently returned from a knee injury, also had nine rebounds and three assists.

Naz Reid led Minnesota with 28 points in the loss while star guard Anthony Edwards pitched in 26 points.

The Blazers, who entered the game as the second-worst 3-point shooting team in the NBA, shot a blistering 18 for 32 (56%) from behind the 3-point line.

The Blazers jumped out to a 28-17 lead after the first quarter, capped off by a Dalano Banton 3-pointer at the buzzer. Banton entered the game after Portland lost Anfernee Simons for the game due to a chest injury and his backup, Scoot Henderson, picked up three fouls in the first quarter.

WARRIORS 120, MAVERICKS 117

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry scored 37 points, including Golden State’s final 12, to rally the Warriors past Klay Thompson and Dallas in an NBA Cup game.

Thompson finished with 22 points in an emotional return to Chase Center for the first time since he departed to join Dallas in July.

Luka Doncic started and had 31 points, eight rebounds and six assists after the team decided his left groin strain was healthy to play once he went through his warmup routine.

The Warriors gifted captain hats to fans in a tribute to Thompson’s tradition of taking his boat across the bay to games. Thompson embraced Curry shortly before tipoff and his 3-pointer gave Dallas a 110-105 lead before his old Splash Brother took over.

Curry shot 14 for 27 making five 3s and added nine assists and six rebounds, also sparking a 20-3 burst to begin the third quarter.